Pediatric Readiness Facility Recognition Program

Participating is a great way to celebrate your commitment to Pediatric Readiness!

Once you receive your designation, you can shout it from the rooftops and let your community know you care about kids. It’s also great way to ensure your colleagues and leadership feel invested in continual improvement in pediatric emergency care.

• Participation in recognition programs is about improving outcomes by being Pediatric Ready.
• Becoming Pediatric Ready is crucial as it is associated with as much as 76% lower mortality risk for children who seek emergency care.
• Pediatric Readiness is achievable, as the cost to hospitals of becoming Pediatric Ready is between $4 and $48 per patient. (Stats are ED-focused. Prehospital research is ongoing.)

The programs are based on the latest national guidelines on pediatric emergency care for EDs and EMS agencies.

• Guidelines for EDs can be found here.
• Ohio EMSC has a defined, multi-phase process to verify facilities meet the necessary guidelines

The National Pediatric Readiness Project (for EDs) and Prehospital Pediatric Readiness Project (for EMS) provide standardized benchmarks, opportunities for self-assessment, and resources for improvement and implementation. Your ED or EMS agency may have participated in a past national assessment period. Recognition programs represent the final stage of your participation in these projects by providing a way to formally verify and publicly celebrate your pediatric capabilities.

The Ohio EMSC State Partnership Program collaborates with Ohio Department of Health (ODH) and Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) subrecipients to support implementation of the Pediatric Facility Recognition Program. HPP partners will assist hospitals in completing the National Pediatric Readiness Project (NPRP) assessment and facilitate applications for voluntary recognition. This coordinated effort is key to advancing pediatric readiness across Ohio’s hospitals and emergency departments. Regional HPP contacts can be found in the documents below.

Please Read Before Downloading the Application Manual

Click below to download the Application Manual, which provides step‑by‑step guidance for completing the application process.

Important Update:
A revised version of the Application Manual was published on October 20, 2025. Please be sure you are referencing this most current edition, as it contains updated submission forms and tier‑specific criteria that are essential to your application.

Additional Notes:

• Applicants must use the separate Application Form (standalone document), as recent updates are not reflected in the Appendix of the currently published Application Manual.
• Certain process activities related to pre‑site review and in‑person site visits may be modified at the discretion of the Ohio EMSC Program to support a thorough, fair, and standardized application review process.

Click below to access the fillable PDF, Application Form, which is required to initiate the application process.

Click below to access the fillable PDF, Supporting Documentation Forms by tier. These forms are designed to help facilities begin organizing the materials and documentation required for submission, offering an opportunity to prepare in advance of the formal application.

Click here for a breakdown of the recognition tiers. Important Update: A revised version of the tier criteria was published on October 20, 2025. Please ensure you reference this latest edition, as it includes updated tier-specific criteria and revised wording, essential for your application.

Click here for a PDF version of a slide deck offering a general overview of the recognition program

Have questions? Click here for our FAQ document (last updated 7/1/24)

Click below to see a map of our HPP regions and their contacts.

Slide Deck - Updated webinar hosted live on 10.29.2025, reflecting changes to the Application Manual.